Retractable ID badge holder kit

ABSTRACT

The retractable ID badge holder kit provides removable and replaceable indicia on a retractable reel housing to celebrate a promotional event, special occasion or holiday. The kit contains a retractable reel supporting an ID badge holder at the end of the retractable cord or tether, a ferromagnetic plate to be glued to one side of the reel housing, an assortment of promotional pictures symbolic of special events, special occasions and holidays, and a rubberized sheet magnet attached or attachable to the rear surface of the pictures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to retractable badge holders, and more particularly to a retractable ID badge holder kit provided with removable and replaceable indicia for the reel housing of an ID badge holder symbolic of promotional events, special occasions, holidays, and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many people who need a badge to pass through building security use retractable badge holders. The badge holders have a belt clip for clipping a reel onto one's belt or to an item of clothing. The badge holder is attached to a cord or string that retracts into the reel. The badge may be quickly extended from the reel to be run through a bar code reader, magnetic strip reader, etc., or to be exhibited to a security guard. The retractable reel makes it unnecessary to detach the badge from one's shirt pocket, waistband, or other item of clothing on which it is displayed, or to remove the badge from one's pocket, purse, or wallet when that is permitted.

While such retractable badge holders are convenient, nevertheless, their appearance often leaves much to be desired. Moreover, there is currently no easy way to quickly alter the appearance of the badge holder either to advance the employer's special projects and promotions, or to suit the employee's desire to celebrate holidays or match the appearance of the badge holder to his or her attire.

Thus, a retractable ID badge holder kit solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The retractable ID badge holder kit provides removable and replaceable indicia on a retractable reel housing to celebrate a promotional event, special occasion or holiday. The kit contains a retractable reel supporting an ID badge holder at the end of a retractable cord or tether, a metal plate to be glued to one side of the reel housing, an assortment of promotional pictures symbolic of special events, special occasions and holidays, and a rubberized sheet magnet attached or attachable to the rear surface of the pictures.

The assortment of pictures may be adhered to the sheet magnet. The sheet is then cut to form a plurality of small round magnets, each magnet having one of the pictures adhesively attached thereto for removable magnetic attachment to the metal plate at an appropriate time for an event or occasion.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental perspective view of a retractable ID badge holder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of a retractable ID badge holder kit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the metal plate, magnet and decorative picture of the retractable ID badge holder kit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the reel housing of the retractable ID badge holder according to the present invention, with the housing broken away to show details of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a retractable ID badge holder according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a retractable ID badge holder kit. The retractable ID badge holder kit provides indicia on a reel housing that is symbolic of a promotional event, special occasion or holiday. Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the kit contains a retractable ID badge holder 50 having a cord 52 on a reel 57 in a reel housing 51. Cord 52 is thus retractable into, and extendable from, the housing 51. FIG. 1 shows the badge holder 50 attached to the pocket of a garment with a badge 40 attached thereto in the extended and retracted positions.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the reel housing 51 has a clip 53 formed on one side thereof for securing the holder 50 to a belt or to a pocket of an article of clothing. A flexible snap fastener assembly 54 secures an ID badge 40 to the holder 50. The retractable cord 52 permits the ID badge 40 to be pulled away from the reel housing 51 far enough to swipe past a bar code reader, magnetic strip reader, and other machine readers, or to be exhibited to a security guard or the like, while the spring-bias of a reel 57 retracts the cord 52 or other tether to return the ID badge 40 to its normal resting position against the reel housing 51 when no longer needed for ID purposes.

The reel housing 51 may be made from plastic, aluminum, or other lightweight material. As shown in FIG. 4, a round metal plate 60 made of ferromagnetic material is attached to a base platform 55 in a recess 59 on the side of the reel housing 51 opposite clip 53 using an adhesive 63. The plate 60 may be very thin and lightweight so that it constitutes a minor addition to the weight of the reel housing 51.

FIG. 2 shows an assortment of promotional pictures 62 a-62 d symbolic of special events, special occasions and holidays are adhered to a rubberized sheet magnet by an adhesive 64, as shown in FIG. 3 (not drawn to scale). The sheet magnet is then cut to form a plurality of small round magnets 61, each magnet 61 having one of the pictures 62 a-d adhesively attached thereto. At an appropriate time for an event or occasion, the magnet 61 having the picture 62 associated with the event or occasion is removably attached to the metal plate 60 to highlight the occasion.

The assortment of pictures 62 a-62 d may relate to the employer's current advertising or promotional campaign, a charitable fund raising campaign, a secular or religious holiday, or may simply be a humorous or decorative image selected by the employee to reflect the employee's mood or to complement the employee's attire. The pictures 62 a-d may be formed on paper, on plastic sheets or transparencies, or on any other medium that may be adhered to the magnetic sheet by adhesive, by heat transfer, by lithographic processes, or otherwise. Pictures 62 a-d may also be secured directly to the reel housing by a non-permanent adhesive.

FIG. 4 shows the metal disk 60 secured to a base platform 55 in recess 59 of housing 51 by an adhesive 63. Cord 52 is wound around reel 57 for retraction within the housing 51.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A retractable ID badge holder kit, comprising: a retractable ID badge holder having a housing, a reel mounted within the housing, a cord mounted on the reel and retractable within the housing, and means for attaching the ID badge to the cord; a ferromagnetic plate adhesively attached to one side of the housing of the retractable ID badge holder; a plurality of disks having indicia bearing distinct promotional pictures symbolic of special events, special occasions and holidays; and a magnet attached to each of the disks, the disks being interchangeably and magnetically attached to the ferromagnetic plate in order to change the ornamental appearance of the badge holder.
 2. The retractable ID badge holder kit according to claim 1, wherein said magnet is round in shape.
 3. The retractable ID badge holder kit according to claim 1, wherein said metal plate is made of steel.
 4. The retractable ID badge holder kit according to claim 1, wherein said promotional pictures are formed on paper.
 5. The retractable ID badge holder kit according to claim 1, wherein said promotional pictures are formed on plastic.
 6. The retractable ID badge holder kit according to claim 1, wherein said badge holder housing further comprises a clip disposed on said housing for attaching said housing to an article of clothing.
 7. The retractable ID badge holder kit according to claim 1, wherein said magnet comprises a sheet magnet.
 8. A retractable ID badge holder, comprising: a housing; a reel mounted within the housing; a cord mounted on the reel and retractable within the housing; means for attaching the ID badge to the cord; a ferromagnetic plate adhesively attached to one side of the housing of the retractable ID badge holder; at least one disk having indicia bearing a promotional picture thereon; and a magnet attached to the at least one disk, whereby the disk is magnetically attached to the ferromagnetic plate in order to change the ornamental appearance of the badge holder.
 9. The retractable ID badge holder according to claim 8, wherein said at least one disk comprises a plurality of disks having distinct promotional pictures displayed thereon, whereby said disks are interchangeably magnetically attached to the housing to alter the ornamental appearance of the housing.
 10. The retractable ID badge holder according to claim 8, wherein said magnet comprises a sheet magnet. 